Right and left
Israeli surveys show that the divide between whether to focus on the hostages or military victory closely follows the split between left and right. While conservative and religious voters support the war as a top priority, the more secular and left-leaning say the release of hostages should come first. Mor lives in a settlement on the West Bank, one of two main Palestinian territories along with Gaza.
Netanyahu’s base is conservative and religious. A new group calling itself “The Reservists’ Camp” has organized a pro-war demonstration in Jerusalem for Thursday night. Rabbi Eli Sadan, who runs a military preparatory academy in the West Bank and who said 17 of his graduates have been killed in the conflict, issued a call to attend the rally, saying, “The blood of the fallen will not be in vain.”
A number of reserve soldiers who’ve been pulled out of Gaza as the military reconfigures its operations say they don’t want to come home before finishing the job. There are Facebook pages of soldiers saying that if they’re captured in battle, they don’t want Palestinian prisoners released in a deal for their freedom.
In 2011, Israel traded more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for one Israeli soldier who’d been held by Hamas for five years. Many now consider that trade illadvised.
The war has killed more than 27,000 Gazans, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and driven nearly two million from their homes. Israel says it’s contemplating extending attacks toward the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million refugees are gathered and disease is spreading.